The Ethereum network is pacing towards the switch from its proof of work chain to the Beacon chain – the proof of stake chain now known as the Consensus layer.
Ethereum developers told users that the network is now entering the final testing phases as it preps for ‘The Merge.’ The network launched Kiln at the end of last week. Ethereum developers and node operators have begun simulating this much-anticipated merge on the public testnet. Thus far, it seems the tests have been going okay.
Following the Friday launch, developer Marius Van Der Wijden noted that the network remains in PoW, with the model merge on Kiln slated for mid this week.
Kiln Testnet
Kiln is the final public testnet before Ethereum moves into PoS consensus, after which previous public testnets including Ropsten, Goerli, Rinkeby, and Sepoilla will be merged to the mainnet. The transition would allow PoS staking clients to run parallel with proof of work mining clients, but as soon as it’s complete, support for mining on Ethereum would be brought to a halt.
Here’s what it brings
Kiln succeeds the Kintsugi public testnet that launched last December, both of which are part of initiatives by Ethereum developers to get the members of the community, client developers and projects synonymous with the post-merge Ethereum environment.
It brings a set of merge milestones, including an additional authentication layer between the Consensus layer and the Engine API, via the implementation of JWT based authentication. Kiln will also allow PoW users to simulate how the transition would affect their activity once it happens.
During the ‘Proof of work’ phase, users will be able to deploy their miners and contracts to model the changes to anticipate with the migration. There being no specified timeline, Kiln would run until there are no breaking changes. Afterward, Kiln v2 would ship to include any necessary changes developers may find.
When should users realistically expect The Merge?
While users still gamble on the actual dates of the merge with PoS consensus, there have been concerns on whether the upgrade would come this year. The general expectation is that Kiln finishes testing around April–May, after which The Merge should happen, almost consistent with Ethereum’s roadmap that has earmarked Q1 this year for this event.
Train tracks joining to become one
According to popular Ethereum developer Tim Beiko, Kiln should provide adequate data to help reach a conclusive date of when Ethereum 2.0 will ship.
However, with a past of development delays, the launch could still stall, further affecting the network’s operation. The EIP 4345 difficulty bomb, for instance, which was to increase the difficulty of mining on the network, had to stall as it was meant to happen post-merge.
All this shows that while the merge could come as soon as June, given a record of previous delays on the path towards PoS consensus, the launch might as well push into next year.
Staking on the Beacon chain surpasses 10 million ETH
According to data provided by Ethereum blockchain tracker Launchpad, more than 10 million ETH has already been staked on the Beacon chain, with the total validators figure standing at 312,916.
Markedly, the numbers have been surging as the clock ticks down on the merge. At the time of the Kintsugi testnet in December, there were 8.7 million staked ETH tokens.
Meanwhile, in the market, Ethereum’s native token has fallen below $2,600 despite a spirited start to the week. Ether posted an intraday high of $2,604.03 as per CoinMarketCap data but has lost almost $80 since then to $2,537.30, where is it was trading at this writing. The 24-hr trading volume is 57.35% up, to 11.376 billion.
To learn more about Ethereum, visit our Investing in Ethereum guide.
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